Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Avalanche Lily (for Heidi)

If cancer isn't an avalanche, what is?
Crazy cascade of cells crushing out life.
Path of mestasis, Path of avalanche,
lies unstable, mined with looming danger.
The miracle is she smiles, remembers
a birthday, bakes a pie, dances in the wood.
Avalanche lily, she blooms where she must
and teaches me to put down roots,send up
shoots no matter how uncertain the soil.

Oh my god, this is beautiful. I have followed your news about Heidi and admire her to the ends of the earth. "Crazy cascade of cells crushing out life..." Amazing phrasing. Despite the avalanche metaphor, it is an uplifting poem full of joy.

You are talking about the most amazing woman I know. Amazing is put down by literary critiques and they say it's overused and should not be used at all now. I say they don't know about Heidi. I love this poem and the power it possesses. I wish it had the power to bring down this scourge of a disease. It sure makes me feel the anger rise that something so ghastly could attack a woman of such strength and love for life. but then it brings on a feeling of wonder that we humans can live our best lives in the worst of circumstances. Hugs to you. I'm so glad you wrote this.

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About Me

I have so many roles, each precious: mother, grandmother, wife, widow,friend life coach, mystic, writer. I have a strong commitment to choosing love over ego, to living out of what I perceive to be wisdom. My motto, borrowed from Mort Satten, is "Real is better than perfect" I work hard to do the "next right thing and not to get stuck in a rigid idea of what the next right thing is. I cherish paradox. I believe there is no one right way to do almost anything.